Hong Joon-pyo, the mayor of Daegu, argued for the “abolition of the Constitutional Court” on the 7th. This move appears to be an effort to appeal to the staunch conservative faction critical of the Constitutional Court’s removal of President Yoon Seok-yeol, ahead of the presidential primaries.
On the morning of the 7th, Mayor Hong posted on Facebook, suggesting, “Let’s abolish the Constitutional Court, which has become a symbol of political strife and conflict, and instead increase the number of Supreme Court justices by four to establish a constitutional adjudication board within the Supreme Court.”
Mayor Hong stated, “During the 1987 constitutional amendment, we adopted a German-style Constitutional Court system. However, due to political influences in its composition, the Court has not functioned properly, remaining at the center of political strife.” He added, “The rise of extreme ideologically aligned Constitutional Court justice candidates has led to a growing sentiment that the Court is useless.”
He further explained, “While the Supreme Court reaches conclusions based on legal logic, the Constitutional Court often reaches a conclusion first and then attempts to align legal logic with it, resulting in a significant drop in the credibility of its rulings. It’s time to change the constitutional adjudication system. The abolition of the Constitutional Court, which has become a symbol of political strife, should be a top priority in the event of a constitutional amendment.”
Mayor Hong’s comments are perceived as a strategic move targeting the conservative base critical of the Constitutional Court, as he prepares for the presidential primaries. On April 5th, a day after the impeachment of ex-President Yoon Seok-yeol, Hong declared on Facebook his intention to run for president, stating, “I’ve thoroughly prepared for this, considering it the final mission of my 30-plus years in politics.”